Class 9 History: French Revolution - NCERT Solutions

The French Revolution

• The French Revolution took place from 1789 to the late 1790s, and it completely changed the social and political structure of France.

Before the Revolution

• The people of France were divided into three social groups or "Estates" before the Revolution.
• The three estates were:
  • 1st estate: Clergy
  • 2nd estate: Nobility
  • 3rd estate: Peasants, artisans, small peasants, landless labor, servants, big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, etc.

Causes of the Revolution

• King Louis XVI inherited an empty treasury due to long years of war.
• The cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the Palace of Versailles added to the financial burden.
• France's financial resources were drained due to the war with Britain and the cost of helping the thirteen American colonies gain independence.
• The French Government had to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone.
• Raising taxes did not suffice, because the French society was divided, and only the 3rd estate had to pay taxes.
• The population of France was growing massively, leading to a rapid increase in the demand for food grains.
• The production of grains could not keep pace with demand, causing the price of bread to rise rapidly.
• The gap between the rich and the poor widened due to the wages of workers not keeping pace with the rise in prices.

Outbreak of the Revolution

• All these factors led to the outbreak of the French Revolution.

Beneficiaries of the Revolution

• The 3rd estate benefited the most from the Revolution.
• The groups that were forced to relinquish power were the people belonging to the 1st and 2nd estates.
• These people had enjoyed certain privileges by birth, which they lost with the Revolution.

Legacy of the Revolution

• The ideas of liberty and democratic rights are the most important legacies of the French Revolution for the peoples of the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Access free PDF downloads of NCERT solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 1 - The French Revolution. These solutions help students prepare for CBSE exams by providing a thorough understanding of the period when the French people overthrew the monarchy.